Amid growing concerns about the North Korea diplomatic track with the US, Kim Jong Un has sent a new letter to President Trump asking for a second meeting to be set up where they can discuss the process directly.
The first Trump-Kim summit was very successful, but deals on denuclearization and pursuit of peace on the Korean Peninsula have begun to struggle, with US officials reluctant to accept peace while pushing North Korea to continue denuclearization unilaterally.
Kim warns he is not intending to take any further unilateral steps, and is waiting for the US to respond to what he’s already done. This is in keeping with North Korea’s expectation that this is a process of gradual confidence-building measures on both sides.
It is, however, contrary to what US officials have suggested that they expect, which is for North Korea to keep giving up more and more, while the US adds to sanctions against them, and then maybe considering giving North Korea something years from now at the end of the process.
Trump and Kim seem to be able to exchange ideas when they’re directly discussing things, but when negotiations are left to other officials on both sides, things seem to stumble and slow. White House officials say they’re looking into scheduling a second summit, and without one, it’s not clear how much longer the process can go on.